Watching the Red Moon Rise
by RirinKamachi
Summary: Shikamaru and Temari Love story I FINALLY wrote. for all those who pestered me to make one sorry for the wait. Here it is! I hope you like it!


"Yawn."

Temari just woke up from a slightly restless sleep at about noon. She normally doesn't get up this late, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't get her mind off what was going to happen the next day.

She got out of bed, took a shower and got ready to go out and face the day. She left her hotel room with her large fan at hand and walked out to the streets of Konoha. She passed by a clock and saw she had about eight hours to burn until her 'appointment'.

She was so distracted by her thoughts she didn't notice her younger brother barreling toward her.

"Temari!" Kankuro yelled as he drew nearer.

At first, the blonde sand shinobi braced herself for the impact, but had a better idea at the last second. When he was close enough, she extended her fist and punched him in the face, stopping him in his tracks. He fell to the ground and groaned in pain.

"Good afternoon, Kankuro. What do you want?" She asked, inquiring as to why he was stampeding toward her.

He got up off the ground, staggered a little, then began speaking, covering his bleeding nose. "Gaara sent me to make sure you got out of bed soon."

"Well, I am now, so go away." Temari demanded.

"But, I was kind of bored and wanted to hang with you for a while."

"You can't."

Kankuro was taken back by this. Neither one of them really had other friends and usually spent their time with one another. "Why not?!" He demanded, wiping his face with his sleeve.

"I'm going to the hot springs." She informed her sibling. "And we can't do any hanging out in the same area."

"Oh, well, have fun. I guess I'll go get something to eat then. Later." Kankuro said goodbye to his sister and left to the Ramen shop, _Ichiraku Ramen_.

Temari waved to Kankuro, then went off to the springs.

Walking into the currently empty hot spring, Temari neatly folded her towel, put it on the ground and lowered her naked self into the steaming hot water. The temperature was just right and she was enjoying herself, although she didn't like the silence. She, however, didn't have to worry about that lasting long, since people started showing up.

Temari opened her eyes and saw who all was coming in. She saw the girl with brown hair held up in two buns atop her head whom she had fought with during the Chunin exams, and two other girls; one in short pink hair and the other with long blonde hair.

"Oh, hey Temari!" Tenten said as she got into the water.

"Hi." She said, unenthused, but trying to be polite.

"Temari?" Sakura inquired. "Oh, it is you. Hey! I'm sorry; I didn't recognize you with your hair down."

"It's okay. How are you doing Sakura?" She asked.

"I'm fine." Sakura responded before being nudged in the side by her blonde friend. "Oh Temari, this is Ino; Ino, that's Temari form Sunagakure."

"Nice to meet you." Ino greeted with a sincere smile on her face.

"Same." Temari replied.

"So," Tenten continued, "what are you doing here in Konoha?"

"Oh, Gaara needed to have a meeting with Lady Tsunade." The sand shinobi replied. "And Kankuro and I were assigned to accompany him."

"So I take it you have some free time?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah. Gaara insists that he'll be fine and told us to use our two days to just relax and do whatever it is we want to do."

"So, you're not busy?" Tenten inquired.

"Not really. I do have plans tonight, but other than that, no."

"You have plans tonight?" Tenten asked. "So then you can't join us on a 'girl's day out' and stay over at my place?"

Temari thought that sounded like fun, but was disappointed. "No, I wouldn't be able to; I have a date." She admitted, ever so slightly ashamed.

"A date?" Ino repeated. "With who?"

Temari sighed, then looked the ladies in the eyes.

"Shikamaru!" Mrs. Nara yelled, banging on her son's door. "Shikamaru, you had better not still be in bed!"

She got a faint annoyed groan in response.

"Damn it, Shikamaru!" she growled, opening her son's door to see him in bed with the pillow over his head. She walked over and pulled the cover off him. His body cringed as this happened. "Get up! You have company!"

This caught his attention. "She's here this early?" He said out loud.

"She? Who are you talking about?" She asked with a hand on her hip.

Shikamaru sat up and looked his mother in the face. "Depends, who are _you_ talking about?"

"Choji, I'm talking about Choji! Who else?" She asked. Suddenly, she had a realization. "Wait, do you have a girlfriend?"

Shikamaru shot her a surprised look. "Huh?"

"Don't play dumb with me. Who were you talking about before?"

He got himself out of the bed. "Can't keep Choji waiting."

"Answer me!" His mom demanded as he threw on a shirt and walked out of the room.

He went down the stairs to meet his 'pleasingly plump' best friend who was waiting downstairs, hearing Shikamaru's 'morning ritual' with his mother. Choji smiled his usual smile and greeted his lazy buddy.

"Good morning! Or should I say 'good afternoon'?" he said before polishing off the last of his bag of chips.

"Morning for me." Shikamaru replied, yawning. "I'm getting me some cereal, you want anything?" He stood there for a second, then scoffed at himself, remembering just who it was he was talking to.

The two boys took a seat and they got themselves a bowl of cereal. "So, Shikamaru, what are we doing today?" Choji asked, taking a bite of cereal.

"Whatever you want to do." He didn't seem too enthusiastic, and his best friend knew it had nothing to do with the fact he was tired.

"Oh, are you nervous about that date with that Temari?"

"…no."

"Oh, come on, yeah you are!" He pried on. "I saw how happy you were when she finally said yes on the third try."

Shikamaru's face turned ever so slightly pink. "…shut up."

"Alright, but it's alright. I mean, something about you has to be normal, right?"

The genius ninja shot his friend an evil death glare, but thought for a second and nodded in agreement.

Current time- 7:30 pm; half an hour until Shikamaru is due to pick Temari up at her hotel room. She's wearing a black skirt that extends to her knees, a purple tank top and black sandals. Her hair is up in her usual '4 ponytail' style and she's wearing black eyeliner and mascara.

She's usually very calm when it comes to… well, anything, but right about now, her nerves are shot. She's pacing and fidgeting with her fingernails and constantly checking the clock. Unfortunately for the clock, since it can't make time go faster, Temari destroyed the little fucker.

Suddenly, there was a knock at her door. Her heart skipped a beat, then, collecting herself, she opened the door. Sadly, it wasn't who she was anticipating.

"He's not going to stand you up, is he?" Kankuro asked in a surprisingly serious manner.

"Shut up." She demanded, trying to shut the door on her little brother, but he blocked it with his body and got himself inside. "What the hell?"

"I want to make sure he shows up. He'll pay if he doesn't."

At first, Temari was mad, but then she realized her brother… cared.

"Well, it's no big deal. It's just a date."

"Yeah, your first one, making it a 'big deal'."

Just then, another knock at the door. Temari went for the door, but was intercepted by Kankuro. He opened the door and was surprised to see, um, not Shikamaru.

"Gaara!" Both sand shinobi said simultaneously.

"Temari?" Gaara asked. Kankuro stood to the side and let his younger brother in.

"Gaara, what are you doing here?" Temari asked, surprised. "I thought the meeting was supposed to still be on."

"It is." Gaara informed. "I called for a short break. I wanted to wish you luck on your 'date'."

Kankuro and Temari just stood there, very much surprised, yet, touched.

"T-Thank you." Temari said, deeply bowing.

"Your welcome." The young Kazekage replied. "I must be getting back." He turned to leave, but stopped in the middle of the doorway. "One more thing."

"Y-yes?" Temari said.

"If he breaks your heart… I'll kill him." After saying that, Gaara left.

After a minute or two of stunned silence, Kankuro spoke up. "You look really nice by the way."

She blushed at the compliment and thanked him.

_Meanwhile, with Shikamaru (who is running late)…_

"If you're late, I'll bet she'll kick your ass." Choji pointed out.

"I know."

"If not her, then one of her brothers."

"Again, I know." Shikamaru repeated himself, going through his closet, trying to find something decent to wear.

"If only there was some kind of 'time jutsu' that could make you go back in time to give you more of it." Choji wondered out loud.

"Yeah, that or forward in time so I could just skip this whole thing." Shikamaru said, settling on a plain black tee shirt and khaki pants.

"Now, that's not nice."

"Well, it's all that's clean."

"I wasn't talking about the outfit…"

Shikamaru quickly got dressed, grabbed his wallet, and bolted out of the house to the hotel alongside his greatest companion.

They finally made it to said hotel a few minutes later. Shikamaru stood at the doors, not wanting to walk through them.

"Good luck man." Choji said. "Tell me all about it tomorrow."

Shikamaru looked at his friend, then nodded. Then he looked back to the doors without moving.

"This would be about the time you go in and get her." Choji whispered.

"Yeah, I know." He sighed, then put his hand on the handle, pulling the door open. He took one last look at his comrade and sighed.

"Go, dummy."

He nodded, then walked in.

He saw a nice lobby, but no Temari. He was hoping she would be waiting there so he could skip the trouble of asking the front desk representative for her room number. He again, sighed, then walked to the front desk. Standing behind the person in front of him, he looked at the clock; 8:05.

Finally, his turn came. He explained himself to the lady, got the room number, climbed the stairs, walked down the painfully long hallway when he finally made it to his date's room. He stood there, staring at the door that seemed to be staring right back in an evil manner.

Finally, he raised his hand and knocked on the door with the knuckle of his index finger. He heard someone come to the door; He figured she'd be checking the peep-hole. The door finally opened, but he was greeted by a boy about his age with spikey-ish brown hair.

"Shikamaru Nara, I'm guessing?" The boy asked.

"Yes." He replied. "Is, um, Temari here?"

The brunette nodded, and then stepped away, opening the door wider and granted the shinobi permission to enter. He walked in and was stunned to see his date standing there; she was so beautiful.

"You're late." She pointed out.

"I know; I'm sorry." He apologized, bowing.

She walked toward him after grabbing her handbag. "Ready to go?"

He nodded then ushered her out the door. Before Kankuro shut the door, Shikamaru heard him whisper "Dead boy walkin'."

Current time: 10:05 pm. Location: Konoha movie theatre.

The movie the two were watching has come to an end and neither shinobi wanted to go home yet, at the same time, they did. So far, the date was a disaster. There was awkward silence all during dinner, the food wasn't the greatest, the movie was terrible, and nobody made a move.

Worst…

Date…

Ever.

Both Shikamaru and Temari are standing outside the theatre, not sure where to go to next.

"Do you want me to take you back to the hotel?" He asked.

"I guess."

They began walking, and with every step taken, they died a little inside, but didn't show it. Then, Shikamaru had an idea.

"Or, if you want, we could go on a walk to the beach." He suggested.

Temari thought about it and saw it as a great way to spend more time with him, so she agreed.

They changed direction and walked to Konoha's sandy beach.

Author's note: Yeah, pretty sure Konoha doesn't have a beach. But it's my story and I do what I want! MRUAHAHAHAHA! So, anyway…

On the walk, Temari really wanted to hold his hand, but didn't want to embarrass herself incase he didn't. That would be reason #2 why she was surprised when he took her hand in his. Reason #1 was because she didn't see him as the type to do that.

"So…" Temari began. "What's going on at the beach? I mean, why are we going there?"

"I go there sometimes just to look at the stars." He replied. "I thought you might appreciate them."

He was right; she does like looking at stars, but she sees them all the time in Suna.

They continued their walk holding hands and listening to the rustling of the wind through the trees.

When they finally arrived, Temari was astounded of the sight of the stars reflecting off the motionless water. She was scanning the landscape when she noticed something in the distance; it was a glowing red… thing. From their vantage point, it looked like a boat.

Then, Shikamaru started walking off to the tree line. She asked where he was going, but he told her to wait a second.

He returned about a minute later carrying a folded blanket. He went back to where she was and laid it out, then lay himself down, followed by Temari who sat upright.

Looking at the landscape again, she saw that same red thing from before, but it was getting bigger. She looked at the rest of the sky for the moon, knowing right now it should be full. That's when she realized that red thing was the rising moon.

"So pretty…" She said quietly to herself.

"I know." Came the unexpected reply of her date.

"It should be full tonight, right?" She asked

"What is?"

"The moon; what did you think I was talking about?" She snapped. "I thought you were agreeing the moon was pretty."

"I was talking…" He sat up and looked her in her eyes, "… about you."

Temari felt herself blush. "O-Oh… um… thanks."

She looked away, but in her peripheral vision, she could see he was still looking at her. She looked at him back and fell deeper in love, if it was possible.

He then moved closer to her, but hesitated for a second, but kept going and eventually kissed her. She was a little surprised, so she pulled back away from him.

"I'm sorry." He apologized.

She looked at him, then put her hands on his jaw line and brought his face closer to hers, kissing him once more.

Getting into it, Shikamaru wrapped his arms around her, gently embracing her. Temari then let his face go and placed them on his shoulders. But, before things could get too far, they stopped.

Temari looked at her watch: 10:37 pm.

"We should get going, right?" Shikamaru asked, still holding her.

"Y-Yeah, we should." _But I don't want to_...

They finally stood up and Shikamaru folded up the blanket and returned it to its box under a tree. When he was done, they began their trek to the hotel under the faint glow of the red full moon.

They walked in silence; hand in hand, and being content in each other's presence. When they turned the corner, they saw the god-forsaken hotel. Temari has honestly never been so disappointed to see said building. Just then, Shikamaru could sense a feeling of regret coming from his date.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, slightly concerned.

"No, I'm fine." She said, not wanting to admit she wanted something… something more.

Upon hearing her say that, and knowing it was a lie, Shikamaru stopped walking and Temari did as well, but gave him a confused look.

"Are you sure?" He questioned.

Temari faintly blushed. "Yeah I'm sure, just take me home." She demanded.

"Something tells me you don't really want that." He replied.

She couldn't hold it any longer; she came up to him and kissed him again, this time with more passion than anyone could ever hope for in a kiss. Shikamaru wrapped his arms around her and she had her arms around his shoulders, bringing him closer to her.

"What are you doing to my sister?!" Came the voice of Temari's younger brother.

"Kankuro, we were-"

"You were… what?" He demanded.

That's when she snapped.

"Kankuro, you dumbass!" She yelled. "It doesn't matter what we were doing! I don't have to report to you, so why don't you just go home and mind your own damn business!" She took Shikamaru's hand and they ran off to the hotel.

They got up to her room and stood in front of the door. They looked into each other's eyes and started laughing slightly.

After collecting themselves, Temari invited him in for some tea. They entered the hotel room and she heated up a pot of water and got out two cups. She set them on the table; one in front of Shikamaru and one in front of herself. They waited for the water to heat by sitting at the table in silence. Finally, Temari said something.

"I'm sorry for my brother earlier." She apologized.

"He's just looking out for you; I don't blame him."

"I heard someone say it was because, since I'm the only girl in our family, they're a little… you know…"

"Protective?"

"Yeah. Even though I'm the oldest…"

"Age doesn't matter. As long as you care for them, nothing should get in the way, right?"

Temari felt herself blush. Suddenly, the teapot began to whistle. She got up to tend to it, but Shikamaru got up and grabbed her wrist. She spun around and he kissed her very deeply. She put her free hand on his shoulder and he wrapped his around her waist.

As this went on, the teapot whistled louder and louder.

"I… need to…"

Shikamaru stopped and let her go. She took the pot off the stove, put it in the sink, turned around and leapt into Shikamaru's arms. She had her legs around his waist and he held her up, hands under her butt.

They began kissing even more passionately than they should have. Shikamaru suddenly lost balance and fell backwards, breaking the table. Temari sat up and looked around, then to her lover's eyes which seemed to be panicking slightly. Then, she began to laugh. He looked at her is surprise, but couldn't help himself; he started laughing with her.

Shikamaru sat himself up; Temari still in his lap laughing. A strand of hair was on her face, so he swept it away, tucking it behind her ear. She stopped laughing, then looked him in the eyes; they smiled at each other as they leaned in for another kiss.

But, yet again, they were interrupted.

"If you want to live to see another day, _Shikamaru_, you should leave."

Both Temari and Shikamaru slowly turned their heads toward the voice, terrified as to whom it belonged to.

"G-Gaara…" Temari stuttered. "I-I, um…"

"Shikamaru," Gaara addressed, "don't make me repeat myself."

Temari stood up, releasing him, and offered a hand to help him up. He took her hand and promptly left after giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. After he was out of view, Gaara turned his attention to his sister.

"Bed. Now. _Alone_." After saying that, he left.

Temari then did as she was told and went to bed after taking a shower.

Temari awoke the next morning feeling refreshed, yet… she had an uneasy 'butterflies' feeling. She got out of bed, did all the normal morning rituals, and went next door to wake her lazy bum of a brother.

Then, something dawned on her; the broken table was gone. Before she could go back and check, Kankuro opened his door. He had on white boxers, a plain black tee shirt, and no face paint with his brown hair in its normal messy state.

"Do you _have_ to wake me this early?" He whined, opening the door more, letting her in. She walked in and saw Kankuro had _two_ tables in his room. One had a smooth white stripe on it.

"Maybe you should learn to get to bed earlier instead of stalking your sister on her date." She countered. "By the way… what's up with the table?"

He looked over his shoulder and scratched his head. "Oh, that's the one from your room. Gaara told me to check on you in the middle of the night to make sure you were still there."

Temari gave him an 'I'm-gonna-rip-your-face-off' death-glare.

"A-Anyway, I saw the table and brought it into my room to fix it… you know, so we don't have to pay for the repairs. We just need to go get some black paint."

Kankuro and Temari went to the main street to go to some shops, looking for paint they could use for the table. They were looking for 'glossy' but all anyone had was 'matte-finish'.

"What the hell is the difference?!" Temari demanded, getting aggravated after the fourth shop.

"Glossy means glossy and matte-finish means it'll look dull." Kankuro explained.

"So… we need glossy."

"Yeah."

"Will Spray paint do?" Asked a third person from behind them. Both sand ninja turned around and saw none other than…

"Shikamaru…" Temari whispered to herself, happy to see him alive.

"What is it?" Kankuro demanded.

"I have some glossy black spray paint at my house if you want it."

_**Later that day.**_

Gaara, Temari and Kankuro are all standing at the gates of Konoha, ready to leave for home. The meeting of Kages went well; the table was fixed, and the Hotel staff didn't notice; and Temari was officially allowed to date Shikamaru without complaint.

They were walking out the gates when Shikamaru came to see them off. In his possession, he had a small purple box with a red ribbon on it for Temari.

"What is it?" She asked as he handed it to her.

"A gift to remember out first date." He gave her a kiss on the cheek, then waved at her brothers and walked off.

"Come on, Temari!" Kankuro called. "We're already behind schedule; we need to go!"

Temari turned around and began walking with her brothers while opening the box. Inside was a silver chain necklace with... a red crescent moon.


End file.
